38
March 8, 1923
preferred Mozart. This seemed to amuse everyone, and evidently all agreed with him. Miss Hess played brilliantly, and again displayed an excellent technic which has characterized her playing. The program ended with two old Flemish folk songs by de Greef.
JOSEF HOFMANN
Every available seat and standing-room was filled on Sunday afternoon, at Carnegie Hall, to hear the fourth and last piano recital of Josef Hofmann. He played an all-Chopin program. The first group was the Fantaisie Polonaise, Mazourka in F sharp minor, and Barcarolle, after which he was forced to respond with two additional Chopin encores. The second group was made up of twenty-four preludes, played without intermission, the audience insisting on showing its bubbling enthusiasm by applauding after a number of them; at the finish he was forced to give three encores. The last group was the Fantasie in F minor, Valse in A flat major, and Polonaise in A flat major. Hardly had the last cord of the Polonaise been struck before it seemed as if the entire audience sprang to its feet and rushed, in scrambling, fighting mob-fashion to the footlights. It was most startling, at least to those of us who had not expected such enthusiasm. Mr. Hofmann, evidently knowing what he was in for, responded immediately with an encore, and this was his undoing, because he was forced to give eight, and even after the lights were out and the attendants had carried away the piano-stool, he had to come back twice to acknowledge the cheers and applause. It was one of the most graceful and gracious acknowledgments on the part of an artist for the love and admiration of his audience that we have witnessed in a long time, and so it is little to be wondered this pianist occupies a unique place in the affection of the American public. Scattered through the audience were half a dozen eminent pianists who remained to the very end with the rest of us, and one very well known opera star and a popular pianist were seen standing well towards the front for the last two numbers, a very pretty compliment from one artist to another.
UKRAINIAN CHORUS
The Ukrainian Chorus, directed by Alexander Koshetz, made its third and farewell appearance of the season here at the Hippodrome, Sunday afternoon, after a successful tour of this country and Mexico. Again these Ukrainian singers in their colorful peasant costumes made a striking picture. Their singing, which is always a capella, once more brought forth the many epithets and words of praise heard after their first concert. It is indeed a “human symphony orchestra.” What could be more like the stringed bass instruments than the humming of the basses? The admirable balance and blending of tone, the vitality and precision of their work and vivid dynamic powers, combine to make their performance one of artistic worth. The members respond readily to Mr. Koshetz’s slightest wish. He is a man of modest bearing, who knows how to obtain the most effective results in choral singing. A number of his songs were heartily rendered.
The soloists were Oda Slobodskaja, soprano of the Petro-grad Opera, and Nina Koshetz, soprano of the Moscow Opera. Mme. Slobodskaja was heard in׳ a group of songs in Russian, French, American and Italian. Her brilliant, powerful voice enraptured her hearers and she was recalled many times. Mme. Koshetz sang a group in English, German and Russian. This artist’s vivid dramatic force was at its height in Rachmaninoff’s Fate, sung in English with careful diction. In this she completely captivated her audience. Much feeling was also evidenced in her other numbers and she was obliged to respond to many recalls with two encores.
Flowers were presented to the conductor and to the soloists and a well-filled house evidenced appreciation in spontaneous applause and rapt attention.
The Tribune spoke of the chorus as “supremely interesting by reason of its music and the marvelous excellence of its performance, an excellence not due to euphony of tone but to the marvelous precision of the singers and their characteristic utterance of the folk song of a people. When the season is over the concerts of this choir will be one of its choicest memories.” The World reviewer referred to these singers as “That extraordinary, band of natural-born artists, the Ukrainian National Chorus.”
SHAUN O’FARRELL
On Sunday evening, at Town Hall, an interesting and artistic recital was presented to a large and appreciative audience by Shaun O’Farrell, robust tenor. He presented a program of much variety, which made it rather a severe test and opportunity for a singer really to prove his ability. In his singing, a dramatic voice of excellent quality stood out in numbers calling for the display of pathos on the one band and irresistible humor on the other. He was heartily received and responded graciously to several encores.
Mr. O’Farrell was ably assisted by Milo Miloradvoich, soprano; Josephine Chaka, soprano, and Anna V. Daly, violinist.
Josef and Rosina Lhevinne in Recital
For his second New York recital in Carnegie Hall, March 16, Josef Lhevinne, apart from his solo numbers, will appear jointly with his talented wife, Rosina Lhevinne, in several two-piano numbers. Besides the Mozart sonata, they will present a Busoni Duettino Concertante (a first performance) and also Ernest Hutcheson’s Caprice, still in manuscript.
Mr. Lhevinne was heard in Passaic, February 26.
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turns. The Schubert quintet enjoyed an especially fine performance.
HEINRICH KNOTE
According to Who’s Who in Music, Heinrich Knote, tenor, was born at Munich in 1870, so he must be at least fifty-three years old. And it wouldn’t be surprising if Who’s Who had forgotten a year or two. But for all that, if there is another German tenor in this country today whose voice sounds so fresh and young, especially in the upper register, the present writer has not heard him.
Knote gave a recital at Aeolian Hall on Saturday afternoon. He sang a group of Schubert, a group of Strauss, the familiar aria from Gioconda, the Addio from Otello, the Liebeslied from Die Walkiire and the Romerzahlung from Tannfiauser. Knote is not a recitalist nor is he a great Liedersinger. He was nervous. But in the operatic numbers he had a chance to show how wonderfully his voice is preserved, tossing off B flats with the ease and strength of a tenor twenty years younger. If he was occasionally a bit short-breathed it was due to this nervousness, as he proved in repeating the Liebeslied—as he was called upon to do—and the second time holding out to full length notes and phrases he had chopped off in the original singing. There was a large audience which welcomed the old favorite back (he was here with the Metropolitan a dozen years or more ago), back with every evidence of hearty enthusiasm.
SUNDAY, MARCH 4
INTERNATIONAL COMPOSERS’ GUILD
At the Klaw Theater on the evening of March 4 the International Composers’ Guild gave its third and last concert of the season. The program was as follows: String Quartet, No. 2, Bela Bartók, played by Jacob Mestechkin, Elfrida Boos, Samuel Stillmand and Gdal Salesski; Three Songs in the German manner, Lord Berners; A Fantasy, Louis Gruenberg; Lady of Clouds, Alexander Steinert; Toys, Carl Ruggles; Two Songs, Emerson Whithorne (all charmingly sung by Lucy Gates) ; Sonata for harp and piano, Carlos Salzedo, played by Marie Miller and the composer; Nocturne and fourth sonata, Leo Ornstein, played with much color and virtuosity by the composer; Hyperprism, for flute, clarinet, two trumpets, three horns, two trombones and sixteen percussion instruments, by Edgar Varese, conducted by the composer. There was much applause, especially for the last-named piece, mingled with audible protests and hisses, which were silenced by Mr. Salzedo, who climbed up on the stage and said: “This is a very serious work and those who don’t like it, please go.” The piece was repeated, and was followed by several angry altercations at the back of the theatre and in the lobby and on the street outside, where groups could be seen vociferating and gesticulating until they were lost to view in the throngs of Broadway. It seems that one is not permitted to have an opinion on -the subject of this music. We gladly refrain.
CITY SYMPHONY: MARTIN RICHARDSON SOLOIST
The last, but one, of the “Pop” concerts by ■the City Symphony Orchestra, Dirk Foch, conductor, was given in the Century Theater on Sunday afternoon. The programs opened with a stirring rendition of the ever popular overture to William Tell (Rossini).
Martin Richardson, tenor, who was soloist, sang two operatic arias Le Reve from Manon (Massenet), and Questa Quella from Rigoletto (Verdi). His voice is of good timbre, strong and vibrant, and his work was well received. This was followed by a group of three numbers; duet for violin and viola by Halvorsen, played by Jascha Fishberg and Samuel Stillman; Moment Musical (Schubert) and Turkish March (Mozart). The concert closed with Tschaikowsky’s symphony No. S in E minor, op. 64.
The New York Tribune says: “Martin Richardson, tenor, was the soloist. . . . His voice (with a certain suggestion of Mr. Lauri-Volpi’s) was strong and resonant, but not particularly smooth with a certain penetrating stridency in its louder notes. Jascha Fishberg, the concertmaster, and Samuel Stillman played an unaccompanied duet for violin and viola by Halvorsen, the tones of their instruments supplementing and mingling agreeably with each other.” The New York Times comments: “The large audience cordially greeted him (Richardson) and recalled him several times . . . Dirk Foch chose the overture to Rossini’s William Tell to open the program, and closed with Tschaikowsky’s fifth symphony.”
NEW YORK SYMPHONY: MYRA HESS SOLOIST
Another capacity audience attended the Sunday afternoon concert by the Symphony Society, March 4, at Aeolian Hall. Walter Damrosch was the conductor. The program opened with the Symphonic Suite, Antar (Rimsky-Korsakoff). The second number was a new composition heard for the first time in America, Fantastic Music of the Night, by Ernst Toch. This, we are told, is one of the composer’s newest works, and is dedicated to Dr. Frank Damrosch. The music was received with great consideration and much attention on the part of the audience. It did not create the impression of being particularly unusual, but merely interesting. It was thoroughly modern in harmonies and yet back of it all, the composer had built his framework on the ideals of the classic school.
Following the new number, Mr! Damrosch gave a spirited reading of the concerto in D minor for piano and orchestra, by Mozart, with Myra Hess as the soloist. Both artist and conductor were greeted with warm approval, and after the number, Mr. Damrosch confessed to the audience that while the new number by Toch was interesting, for himself he
hearers. In playing with the quartet she revealed fine adaptivity. The piano part is rather submerged throughout, with only occasional passages which lead out with decisiveness. Mme. Ney handled these with the energy and high spirit of a Jeanne d’Arc saving France. Her rhythms, so remarkably incisive, distinguished the third and last movement and the wonderful Adagio was treated with emotional care. One is led to wonder why the position of the piano is not reversed in such ensembles, burely there is neither an advantage in asking a pianist to screw her head around to catch the eye of the first violinist nor in spreading the tonal body. With the instrument turned around and the quartet seated directly in front of it, both issues could be met. The quartet did its part in the undertaking with intelligence and finesse.
Beethoven’s quartet in C minor and a ■sonatina by Pierre Menu, performed for the first time in New York, preceded the Brahms. The classic was satisfying in every way and the new composition set forth much of interest. It was decidely French, with all the excellences and some of the shortcomings of that school. The thematic material was diatonic and of vital character, some of it as lyric and naively charming as the early chansons. The rather modified whole tone treatment it received was colorful, coherent and cumulative. The second movement had special melodic beauty and ■some effective counterpoint and the last introduced some frequently heard Spanish dance rhythms. From this year’s concert season Spain is seemingly regaining her old power over the world, if only ¡by the click of her castanets. Rightly named a sonatina, the work as a whole was delightfully fresh and ungrown-up and shows a grateful effort to combine effective melody-writing and contrapuntal interest with new color material. Rhymthically it was a little trite and laboring under the burden of the four measure phrase. The quartet gave it a sincere interpretation, finished and excellent in all respects. Its playing throughout the evening was marked by good ensemble and tonal richness.
ADRIENNE LACHAMP
A dance recital of interest was that given by Adrienne Lachamp when she made her American debut at the Town Hall on the evening of March 1. Miss Lachamp’s hands were perhaps the first thing that attracted the attention of her audience, for they are beautifully moulded and through them she expresses the most delicate shades of meaning. Then, too, her facial expressions are worthy of note. Beauty and a charming personality also are included in Miss Lachamp’s assets. Her success at this recital, however, lay more in her ability as a pantomimist than it did as a dancer. Polichinelle, Rachmaninoff; The Stolen Jewels, Grossman, and gavotte, Gosses, were perhaps her best numbers. In the last mentioned, which had to be repeated, Miss Lachamp presented a very lovely picture, so lovely that she was greeted with hearty applause immediately upon her entrance on the stage.
Miss Lachamp was assisted by the Lachamp Symphony Players, under the efficient direction of Jacques Gruenberg. In a Chopin waltz and the Rachmaninoff Polichinelle, Mr. Gruenberg played an especially sympathetic accompaniment on the piano for Miss Lachamp. The orchestra was heard in the overture to Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Debussy’s first arabesque, Grieg’s March of the Dwarfs and Kreisler’s Schoen Rosmarin and Liebesfreud.
According to one of the dailies Miss Lachamp “has a chameleon quality that merges her personality into whatever role she essays. As the white-robed nun in Gounod’s Ave Maria, she was a white flame of adoration. A little later she was a buoyant belle of the ball; the tragic figure in Grieg’s Ase’s Death; a wildcat of a young gypsy caught with a stolen jewel; a harlequin to Rachmaninoff’s Polichinelle; a butterfly to Grieg’s Papillon; a prince at a mask ball to the music of Chaminade.”
SATURDAY, MARCH 3
LONDON STRING QUARTET
At Aeolian Hall on the evening of March 3 the London String Quartet gave a recital before a large audience which would have been more enthusiastic had the second number on the program been more to its liking. This was a miniature suite entitled Peter Pan, by H. Walford Davies. True, one movement of this siute was repeated, but on the whole it cannot be said to have made a deep impression, though it is possible that a second hearing might give a better insight into the intentions of the composer and would perhaps convince one of his melodic invention, which seemed a bit doubtful.
The program opened with a Haydn quartet, and closed with Schubert’s quintet, the second cello being taken by Felix Salmond. Mr. Levey, being still on the sick list, was again replaced at this recital by Arthur Beckwith. Needless to say, the playing of the quartet was exquisite, as it always is. Their sonority and balance of tone are inrreproachable and unapproachable, and their interpretations always dignified, free from mannerisms and excesses, light and sombre by
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